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So what is truth? The Bible is truth in a world that's at sea, a world that's tossing from this side to the next. You and I, when we hold a Bible in our hands, when we open it and read it, when we hear the word of God being read and expounded, we have an answer to the question, what is truth? Truth is every jot and tittle, from Genesis 1:1 to the close of Revelation 22. It's true. It is absolutely true.
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Truth has always been under attack, but it seems more than ever in our day and from all sides. So how can we as Christians, be confident that what we know is the truth? Fortunately, we can. And for one very simple reason. Hello and welcome to another episode of Renewing youg Mind. This week we'll be listening to several of the messages from the Ligonier 2026 National Conference, beginning with a message from Dr. Derek Thomas. But be sure to stick around until the end of today's program to learn how you can receive a hardcover edition of Dr. R.C. sproul's book, Heroes of the Christian Faith. Right now, though, here's Dr. Derek Thomas answering the crucial question, what is truth?
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What is truth? Well, it's today's question, isn't it, the trajectory from the Enlightenment to our own current time, that truth, if there is such a thing as truth, cannot be known in Kant's language, Immanuel Kant's language, that the phenomena of the world in which we live cannot penetrate into the noumena where truth exists. And so we've grown up in a world, you and I, where we've employed terms like post modernity, where truth cannot be known. A world of relativism and subjectivism to questions in latter years unable to define what a woman is. That's the world in which we live, our world, a world where there is a rejection of metanarratives. Truth is a mere social construct rather than a reality corresponding to God's creation. Our universities view any universal truth claim, especially the ones pertaining to Christianity and the gospel, as a metanarrative designed to oppress others. Creates a nonsense world where physics and mathematics can be trusted. After all, we can send Artemis, too. Aren't those gorgeous pictures of the moon absolutely fabulous? All dependent on mathematics and physics and astrophysics. True truths in that realm, but in other realms, moral categories, the sanctity of life, are dismissed as mere opinion. Knowledge is socially constructed, they say, and therefore subjective. What's true for me isn't true for you. And it ends up in a world that is essentially nihilistic media outlets. We are now all too familiar with the phrase fake news. It's kind of stuck that a thing is true depending on who speaks it. Without a standard, a baseline for truth, society devolves into letting the loudest and most powerful determine what is true for the moment. So what is truth? Well, first of all, I want to answer that question because this is the Ligonier conference and of all people we know what truth is. Truth is God's revelation in creation and Scripture. God's revelation in creation and Scripture is true. Jesus in his final moments in the upper room, in that high priestly prayer, that holy place in the canon of Scripture, John 17 Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. You have, of course, statements of general revelation in Romans 1 and Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament displays his handiwork, true truths. But needing what Calvin called the spectacles of Scripture to bring that fuzzy revelation that's there even of God's eternal power and Godhead, bringing that into sharp focus and relief by the word of God. So Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in the way of righteousness, that the man of God might be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. All Scripture is the product of the outbreathing of God. You have Peter saying that holy men of old wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And the verb carried along is the same verb that Luke employs in the closing chapters of Acts in the shipwreck. When the sails were brought down because of the fierce storm and the boat was carried along by the wind, men wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Jesus view of the Bible the Bible's view of itself is that Scripture is the word of God. The infallible, inerrant word of God. Three quarters of a million words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, about a million in English translations, written by patriarchs and prophets and apostles at different times and different seasons, different styles, history, narrative, poetry, prophecy, apocalyptic gospel, letters, verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, subordinate clauses, and all of it infallible and inerrant. What is truth? This is truth. That's it. I can go now? There's a practical syllogism that we sometimes employ, that all Scripture is from God. God cannot lie, therefore Scripture cannot lie. It's a simple syllogism. All Scripture is from God. God cannot lie, therefore Scripture cannot lie. Scripture is authoritative in everything that it teaches. Now, it doesn't teach everything it doesn't tell you that I was born on 7th February 1953 in the back of an ambulance in the midst of a snowstorm because we weren't able to get to the hospital on time. That's true. You have to believe me. Trust me, it's true. My mother told me this story a lot, but it's not in the Bible. Scripture is authoritative in everything that it teaches. It's the rule of faith and conduct. At the Reformation it became a slogan, sola scriptura by Scripture alone, in contradistinction to the medieval church that had raised the power of the magisterium above that of Scripture. Scripture alone. It was the material cause of the Reformation. The formal cause of the Reformation is justification by faith. But the material cause of the Reformation was sola scriptura. Words have meaning, and Bible words have meaning. Hebrew words have meaning, Aramaic words have meaning. Greek words have meaning. They need to be interpreted according to rules of grammar and rules of interpretation. Jesus says Scripture cannot be broken. It can't be torn apart. You can't say, well, this part is authoritative, but that part is not everything that the Bible teaches, except what it teaches on sexuality only. That is infallible, inerrant. No, the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, all of it is infallible and inerrant. Now, strictly speaking, we're making this assertion about the original autographs, none of which of course we have, but we have the science, and it is a science of manuscript transmission to ascertain which is the best text available. It's a very interesting question that arises in the course of post Reformation confessions as to which should come first in a confession of faith, the doctrine of Scripture or the doctrine of God. Now I will let the chairman of the board of Ligonier, our Dutch friend, our psalm singing friend, I will let him tell you why it is that the belgic confession has the doctrine of God first and not the doctrine of Scripture. But the puritans of the mid 17th century seemed to be saying, by placing the doctrine of Scripture first in the Westminster Confession, they were saying that we can't really know anything about God with absolute certainty unless we have the Bible to tell us. So it's an interesting question. So what is truth? The Bible is truth in a world that's at sea, a world that's tossing from this side to the next. You and I, when we hold a Bible in our hands, when we open it and read it, when we hear the word of God being read and expounded, we. We have an answer to the question, what is truth? Truth is every jot and tittle from Genesis 1:1 to the close of Revelation 22. It's true. It is absolutely true. But then, secondly, Jesus is true. Jesus is true. He said in the upper room earlier that evening before he prayed the prayer, sanctify them through thy word. Thy word is truth. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. I am the way, the truth and the life. And no man comes to the Father but by me. Jesus is, in effect, the personification of truth. The Bible is true. The words of the Bible are true. The statements of the Bible are true. Everything that the Bible teaches is true. But Jesus is the personification of that truth. I am the way, the truth and the life. He is the truth and the summary of all that the Old Testament pointed to in types and shadows and prophecies. He is both true God and true man. Two distinct natures in one person, without confusion or change or division or separation. True men. A human body, a human soul needing food and water and sleep. One who could experience exhaustion to the point that on a storm on the Sea of Galilee, he falls asleep and had to be shaken by the disciples to awake. Such was his exhaustion. One who could weep at the tomb of his dear friend Lazarus, who had died and had been buried. And you have that shortest text in the English King James version of John, chapter 10. That Jesus wept. Human emotions of grief and sorrow and disappointment and elation and joy and expectation. A true man who grew in wisdom and knowledge and in favor with God and with men. From a little child who needed to be taught to read the Hebrew text, who needed to be taught to speak Aramaic to his parents, who needed to learn the rules of carpentry with Joseph, his stepfather, until he grew into full and glorious manhood, but still a man, a true man. What is truth? Jesus, who walked on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He was a true man, the epitome of manhood. But he was also true God at the same time. The second Person of the Trinity. The one who had been with the Father from eternity. The one who had made a covenant with his Father to become the mediator, the redeemer of sinners like you and me. Infinite God, unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. True prophet to teach us. True priest to redeem us. True king to rule over us. A savior whose destiny it was to face that hour that was to come where he would lay down his life as a Sacrifice in our room and in our stead to satisfy the demands of divine justice. He is the ultimate revelation of God. You know, when children ask, you know, what is God like? And you can quote the Catechism, the Shorter Catechism, God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable. And in his being, wisdom, power, justice, holiness and truth. But perhaps a simpler answer for a little child would be, he is like Jesus. Because there is no un Christlikeness in God. Something of the Father's beauty and presence and holiness is to be found in Jesus. He's the ultimate revelation. He doesn't just speak true words about God. He is the true God. In theology, we sometimes distinguish between two Latin words, quid and qualis. Quid is the question, what is God? The quiddity of God. What is God? That's a very difficult question to actually answer. What is God? A much easier question to answer is qualus, what is God like in his personality, in his characteristics? And he's like Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. He is the exposition of reality which is true. He exposes the truth of our lost condition and offers himself as a true substitute to save us from the consequences of our sin. He is the fulfillment of a pattern. Temple, sacrifices, priesthood. All of them find their fulfillment in Him. He is the way to the Father. He is not one truth among many other truths. He is the one and only way to the Father to come to know our Heavenly Father, to be able to say those beautiful words of the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. That you and I, by the mercy of God can be adopted into his household and family, where the Father is our Heavenly Father and Jesus is our elder brother. To have a community of brothers and sisters all over the world right now, this morning, as I speak, a true family worshiping a true and unimaginably beautiful Heavenly Father. He is the way to the Father. You want to know what is truth? Truth is that you are a sinner. Truth is that by nature you are lost. Truth is that by nature you are unable to save yourselves. The truth is that God loved you and sent His Son into this world to save you and redeem you, his one and only true Son, whom He loved with an eternal love. And he gave him up for us all. How shall he then not with him also freely give us all things? That's truth. But then, thirdly, truth is for life. Gospel truths. There are gospel truths. What are those truths? Well, there's that we've been raised with Christ and that we sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You're sitting. You don't even know where you're sitting. You're somewhere in Florida. You're somewhere in Orlando. You drove here. You used your gps. You have no idea where you are. But if you're a believer, I can tell you exactly where you are. You are sitting in the heavenly places with Christ. You've been raised with Christ. That's not a truth about the future. It is a truth about the future, about our physical bodies one day. But this is a truth about us right now. Our souls have been raised with Christ. We were dead in trespasses and in sins, but now we are alive unto righteousness. We've been called that effectual call that called us out of darkness and into light, that regenerated us and quickened us and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us. We are called and we've been justified. That's true. The doctrine of justification by faith alone, in Christ alone apart from the works of the law. That is true. That we are in a right standing in a right relationship with God by faith alone, in Christ alone who offered himself as a sacrifice for my sins and I'm justified. That justification can never be taken from us. Not life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any other thing in all of creation can separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That's true. How then shall we live? The Holy Spirit, the author of Scripture, the one who indwelt the Lord Jesus and enabled him to do what he did as a savior, filling him to overflowing. The Holy Spirit will whisper in our ears. That eye hath not seen nor ear heard. Neither has it entered into the state of man what God has prepared for those that love him. That's true. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be a Christian? I learned that phrase from Sinclair Ferguson. He was always saying that at the end of some of his sermons. Isn't that a wonderful thing? He was moved himself by what he was preaching. And it's affected me a lot. Isn't it wonderful that we know things that are true? We're not living in a world of falsehood. We're not living in a metanarrative that cannot be rested upon. We know, we are certain. We have God's written word. We have his son. God's promises are true. I will never leave you nor forsake you. That's a great promise, isn't it? When you pass through the valley of darkness when Satan comes and does his worst. When things happen to you that you don't want to happen, and things don't happen that you want to happen. When trials and tribulations come, you have a promise. Do you remember when Bunyan has Christian and his friend in Doubting Castle and they're there for three days or so over the weekend and he comes. It's an astonishing thing that Bunyan says, that Christian comes to the point of talking about taking his life. That was a daring thing to put in a family book in the 17th century. And then do you remember what he found in his pocket? A key called Promise. A key called Promise. I have it near the sink in my kitchen. Because I'm at the sink a lot, you know, doing the dishes and stuff. You can ask rosary. I do the dishes while I stick them in the dishwasher. It's a daily chore and I see it every day. A key called Promise. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Having begun a good work, he will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. That's a promise. That's true. It's not a half promise. It's not a promise for some Christians and, and not for others. It's not a promise for, you know, the super spiritual Christians, the ones who go to the Ligonier Conference and read the Reformation, study Bible and sing psalms. Having begun a good work, he will complete it. He will complete it. He will make you into that new creation with a renewed body and soul to dwell forever in the new heavens and new earth. That's a promise. That is true. Nothing can separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing. In John 8, 31 and 32, Jesus is speaking to those who have made a profession of faith, but points them to the mark of a true disciple. And that's permanence. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. If you abide in My Word, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Isn't that a beautiful thing that by nature we are in shackles and chains? But if you abide in God's word, God's word which is true. God's word that's infallible. God's Word that is inerrant. If you abide in his word, the truth shall set you free. Free from prison, free from captivity, free from doubt, free to know the truth and to rejoice in it and live in it day by day. The truth in John's Gospel, it's not merely knowledge now, it is knowledge. Truth consists of statements and words and propositions and doctrines. Truths, as we say. But in John's Gospel, truth is more than that. Truth is a person. And when you know him, when you know God's Son, when you know Jesus, when you know that he is your Savior, when you know that he has done everything that needs to be done to propitiate our sins, he has borne the wrath of God to its full, to its maximum. He cried out, for you and me, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Our sins were reckoned to his account so that his righteous robe might be reckoned to our account. So you're not wearing those filthy rags anymore. Look around you. Look at what you're wearing. You're wearing the righteous robe of the Lord Jesus, who fulfilled every demand, every facet of the law. He became a slave to set you free. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free to live and to enjoy life, even in this broken, fallen, crazy world in which we live, where Satan prowls like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, that you may live with joy and peace and assurance to sing his praises, to love him who is Truth. To walk with him who is Truth. To listen to his voice as he speaks in his word, which is truth. And you will be welcomed as a child in your Father's home with Jesus, your elder brother. Of all the people in the world, you, dear Christian, knows the answer to the question, what is truth? You limit yourself to five minutes of news a day. Just five minutes. Six and you're going to go crazy. Ten and you'll be grumpy. And after that, your faith is going to be tested again and again and again. Make sure, dear friend, that you're anchored in the holy, inerrant and true word of God and live by it day by day. What a gift. God didn't have to give us the Scriptures. There were periods in redemptive history, before Moses, for example, the early church, before the New Testament documents were written. They didn't have a Bible or they didn't have a complete Bible. But what a blessing to have a Bible. So important at the Reformation that Luther would translate the Bible into German, Tyndale, which cost him his life, translating it into English so that you and I might know the truth in all of its fullness, in everything that it teaches, to help us live a truthful life in gratitude for all that God has done for us in the gospel. What is truth? Well, we know. We are certain. We don't live in a fog of uncertainty. We live with the knowledge of the truth in our hands and in a person called Jesus, whom we worship and adore and follow as disciples, that we might know all the truth that is possible for us to know and to live out that truth for his praise and glory.
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Isn't that wonderful that we don't live in a fog of uncertainty? That indeed we live in the light of God's word. This lesson from Dr. Derek Thomas reminds us just how important it is for God's people in every generation to respond to the errors that we encounter in the culture. If you'd like to learn more about the biblical and historical figures who've stood for God's truth through the ages, call us today with a donation at 800-435-4343 or when you give your gift online at renewingyourmind.org we'll send you the hardcover edition of Dr. R.C. sproul's book Heroes of the Faith, along with the digital study guide. Tomorrow we'll continue our theme from the Ligonier National Conference with another crucial does prayer change things? Dr. W. Robert Godfrey will be our teacher, so I hope you'll join us here on Renewing youg Mind. Sa.